This invention relates primarily to the measurement of wind velocity and direction. More particularly, this invention relates to a device and method for measuring wind velocity, wind direction, and perhaps other weather parameters such as precipitation. The apparatus and method provide the wind measurements using substantially no moving parts and using a single collector body for wind force and precipitation.
Wind measuring devices such as weather vanes and wind socks provided qualitative information on wind velocity and direction. Devices incorporating rotating propellers or moving arms provided more quantitative information on wind velocity, however, these rotating propeller-type devices usually required separate structures to measure wind direction. Further, because rotating propeller-type devices included moving parts, they were subject to frequent mechanical failure and required substantial maintenance and calibration.
Early precipitation measuring devices, such as hollow cylindrical or funnel structures captured falling rain and included calibrations that allowed a user to determine the amount of precipitation that had fallen since the device was last checked. Other devices collected precipitation and then metered it in uniform drops which could be counted to provide a precipitation volume measurement. However, these precipitation measuring devices were strictly limited to measuring precipitation and provided no measurement of other weather parameters, particularly wind velocity and direction.